ALLISON LANGDON:
Josh Frydenberg joins us now in Canberra. Treasurer, good morning.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Good morning Ally, nice to be with you.
ALLISON LANGDON:
We know you spoke to the Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas last night. Did you guys nut out a deal?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
It was a constructive discussion and we are working through our options, recognising that the extension of the lockdown in Victoria is going to hurt families. It's going to hurt businesses and we, from day one of this crisis Ally, have been there to support not just Victorians but Australians with an unprecedented amount of economic support. But all along our supports have been guided by our principles and our principles are that any support, any measures that we undertake, they will be targeted, they'll be temporary, they'll be using the existing systems and they’ll obviously be proportionate as well.
ALLISON LANGDON:
Why not just give them what they want? I mean, the issues here stem from quarantine, which is your responsibility, and also delays in the vaccine rollout. That one's also on you. You have to pull out your wallet here, don't you?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well I think, as you understand, Victoria has been subject to more lockdowns than any other state. It's actually Victorians who are asking the question, "Why does it always happen in our state?" If you take that initial period where the whole country was effectively in lockdown last year, since then, Victorians have been subject to 140 days of lockdowns whereas the average across the other states and territories have just been six days. Indeed, in NSW, the kids have been out of school around 30 days whereas, in Victoria, some kids have been out of school for 21 weeks. Victorians are asking those hard questions of their State Government. It's not for me to answer, it's for them. With respect to quarantine, we are considering a proposal from the Victorian government and we're considering it favourably for a designated facility. We invested $500 million dollars in the budget to expand the Howard Springs quarantine facility. We've seen with respect to the vaccine an increased speed of the rollout with 700,000 jabs being delivered in the last seven days alone. The hesitancy we saw in parts of country, at least we are seeing more people now start to get the jab which is, of course, welcome.
ALLISON LANGDON:
There seems to be a bit of hesitancy within your own ranks. We're hearing this morning that there are nine senior Coalition MPs who won't say if they've been vaccinated, including Aged Care Minister Richard Colbeck. It is not a great look, is it?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
I would encourage all of them to get vaccinated. I think it is important the country comes together in this big task. As you know, we're working with the states and territories through the GPs, through the various clinics they've established and people are now getting the jab. I had it in Canberra just a few days ago. Bit of a sore arm for a day or so but nothing much more than that. It is important that we all get the vaccine if we're eligible.
ALLISON LANGDON:
Do you think it's okay these MPs won't say whether they are or aren't or if they're going to or not?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
I'd encourage all MPs to actually get the vaccine.
ALLISON LANGDON:
But do you think it is okay we don't know from these guys?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
I'd encourage everyone to say it, if that's what you're asking me directly. I'd ask them all to say whether they've had the vaccine because MPs should be leading by example and, if they're eligible, getting the vaccine and that will also encourage others to do so.
ALLISON LANGDON:
You did mention quarantine camps. You're looking favourably at this option that Victoria is looking at. How soon can that be up and running? You've got people like Jane Halton, who is on your COVID advisory board, she has been pushing for this since last October.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
The designated facility Victoria approached us about to help co-fund is over and above their existing hotel quarantine. Their hotel quarantine will continue. It has been pretty effective across the country but this is over and above that particular system and so we'll have more to say about that very shortly.
ALLISON LANGDON:
We had great economic news yesterday.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
We did.
ALLISON LANGDON:
What impact will this have, though, if the lockdown in Victoria continues beyond this second week?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well lockdowns cost jobs. There's no two ways about it. It dents confidence. Hurts investment. And that is why we're encouraging obviously Victoria to provide as much relief and flexibility as they can. But what we did see in yesterday's National Account numbers was that Australia is leading the world with a broad-based private sector-led recovery. Over the course of the March quarter Ally, we saw Japan, France, Germany, the United Kingdom all go backwards in terms of their economic growth. Yet here in Australia, our economy expanded and the economy today is bigger than it was going into the pandemic. There are more Australians in work going into the pandemic. And no other advanced economy across the world has seen that occur. So that's a real tribute to the incredible work of more than 25 million Australians.
ALLISON LANGDON:
It is indeed. And look, just before you go, I know you're from Melbourne, you're a mad footy fan, what did you make of the advice from South Australia's Chief Health Officer to fans who are going to the Crows and Collingwood match not to touch the ball?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well that was pretty passing strange. I saw the Health Officer say that she hadn't been to many games. Anyone who goes to a footy game knows that when a torpedo punt is coming at you many miles an hour, you don't really have a choice as to whether you touch it or not. Otherwise you get hit on the scone. And scones should be reserved for jam, not hits on the head.
ALLISON LANGDON:
Oh, you've been working on that one for a while! I thought you might put your hands up and just go ‘not the face, not the face!’
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
All of three seconds. Thank you.
ALLISON LANGDON:
Good stuff Treasurer, nice to talk to you this morning. Thank you.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Great to be with you.